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Sept. 4, 2008
A Well-Trained Sales Force
Is Critical to Yellow Pages’ Transition to Multiplatform Medium,
According to The Kelsey Group
Global Yellow Pages
executives to explore latest sales strategies at Kelsey’s
upcoming Directional Media Strategies 2008 conference.
Princeton, NJ (Sept. 4, 2008) --
Based on a review of quarterly financials reported by five leading
public Yellow Pages publishers, the average share of revenues from
online advertising was 15.2 percent for the first half of 2008,
up from 12.8 percent in the first half of 2007—a one-year
increase of nearly 19 percent. These figures illustrate how quickly
the shift from print to online is taking place, according to The
Kelsey Group.
This analysis aligns with the firm’s directional
media forecast released earlier this year, which indicated that
growth in directional advertising—local search, print Yellow
Pages and Internet Yellow Pages—would be driven in large part
by growth of the interactive segments. The firm’s analysts
emphasize that while local search and IYPs continue to gain market
share, print will remain the most important source of leads for
small businesses, reinforcing the multiplatform business model.
A well-trained sales force is critical to the success
of a multiplatform business strategy, according to The Kelsey Group,
which is why it is a primary focus of the firm’s upcoming
Directional Media Strategies 2008 conference (DMS ’08: The
Multiplatform Opportunity), Sept. 15-17 in Atlanta.
“As the revenue mix becomes diverse, the importance
of adjusting the business model, and the way the sales channel is
organized, becomes much more acute,” said Charles Laughlin,
senior vice president and program director, The Kelsey Report®,
and managing editor, The Kelsey Group. “At DMS ’08,
we will take a close look at the complex multiproduct offerings
sales reps are now selling and what publishers are doing to position
their sales forces to succeed.”
DMS ’08 is The Kelsey Group’s 29th Yellow
Pages and directory conference (formerly Directory Driven Commerce—DDC:
The Future of Yellow Pages), attracting the widest and most diverse
audience of senior executives from across the global directional
media industry. The conference agenda reflects the challenges and
opportunities presented by the changing local media landscape. Sessions
will cover the priorities of today’s traditional and online
publishers, which must balance the need to focus on the basics—selling
and publishing the best directory products they can in the current
economy—while finding ways to achieve sustainable, long-term
growth and strategic advantage in a multiplatform marketplace. DMS
’08 features a number of sessions that highlight the role
of the sales force, including:
- From Perception to Performance: The Sales Channel Revolution
- Selling in a Down Economy
- The Online Video Opportunity
- Mobile Local Search: What’s the Role for Yellow Pages
Publishers?
- The Change Imperative
In addition, The Kelsey Group is conducting a three-hour
pre-conference session on Sept. 15 titled, “Advanced Online
Selling Skills.” The session is designed for those responsible
for developing a local media organization’s sales strategy,
managing the sales force, or evaluating or recommending training
programs that support sales objectives.
DMS ’08 conference sponsors include Acxiom,
Adfare, AgendiZe, Amdocs, AT&T Real Yellow Pages, Call Genie,
eStara, Exalead, Imagine Local, infoUSA, Local Matters, Local.com,
Localeze, Marchex, MDS, MediaTraks, Mixpo, Spotzer, Superpages.com
and Telmetrics. Association partners include Association of Directory
Marketing (ADM), Association of Directory Publishers (ADP), International
Classified Media Association (ICMA) and Yellow Pages Association
(YPA). For more information about DMS ’08: The Multiplatform
Opportunity, visit www.kelseygroup.com/directional-media-strategies-2008.
About The Kelsey Group
The Kelsey Group is the leading provider of research, data and strategic
analysis on directories, small-business advertising, online local
media, vertical market advertising and mobile advertising. Founded
in 1986, the company has built a reputation as the premier analyst
firm covering the directory publishing community and the emerging
local search marketplace, providing advisory services (The Kelsey
Report®, Interactive Local Media and Marketplaces), publishing
(Global Yellow Pages™), consulting (more than 400 individual
assignments) and conferences (72 events). For more information about
The Kelsey Group, visit www.kelseygroup.com.
Media Contact:
Eileen Pacheco
eileen@tango-group.com
(781) 556-1026
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